Shock absorbing device for bread toasters



June 1954 E. H'. SAVELA ETAL 2,680,403

suocx ABSORBING DEVICE FOR BREAD TOASTERS Filed Sept. 15 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l EDWARD H. SAVELA AND ROBERT A. MILLER June 8, 1954 E. H. SAVELA EIAL 2,680,403

SHOCK ABSORBING DEVICE FOR BREAD TOASTERS Filed Sept. 15, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 awe/Mow. EDWARD HQ SAVELA AND ROBERT A. M LLER gM W June 1954 E. H. SAVELA EI'AL 2,680,403

SHOCK ABSORBING DEVIQE FOR BREAD TOASTERS Filed Sept. 15, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 D l8 47 1 as 5 I29 I49 26 I 6| 9 1 I32 82 FIG 7 0 v G m EDWARD H. SAVELA AND ROBERT A. MILLER Patented June 8, 1954 SHOCK ABSORBING DEVICE FOR BREAD ITOASTERS Edward H. Savela and Robert A. Miller, Grand Haven, Mich.,.assignors to Cainfield .Manufacturing Company, Grand Haven, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application September 15, 1949, Serial No. 115,816

Claims.

The object of the instant invention resides in providing a shock absorbing device for bread toasters constructed as hereinafter set forth and having the functions and advantages recited.

The bread toaster disclosed in this applicationconsists of a case A in which is disposed a frame work B. The framework B and associated parts provides two vertical bread ovens C into which the bread may be placed through suitable openings in the'upper portion of the case A. Within the framework B is disposed two vertically movable bread racks D which support the bread within the ovens C and which are spring biased to non-toasting position. An operating lever pivoted to the framework and connected to the bread racks is adapted to move the bread racks without interfering with the proper ejection of the bread from the toaster.

In the drawings:

Fig. .1 is a:plan view of .a portion of an electric toaster illustrating an embodiment of our invention with portions brokenaway to illustrate the construction thereof.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal elevational sectional view of the toaster taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing the partsin altered position.

Fig. 6 is a'view similar to Fig. 5 showing the parts .in still-different position.

Fig. 7 isa sectional view taken on line 1-1 of Fig. .3.

The case A of our invention as best shown in Fig. 2 consists of a lower case section in which extends about the entire toaster and which has ends H and sides 12. The lowermost part of the case section ID has a flange l 3 extending inwardly therefrom and on which the toaster mechanism rests. The upper part of the sectionv ID has an offset l4 formed in the same and which provides a recess I 7. Overlying the-section -l-0 isan upper Hll case section l5. This case section is dome-shaped in form and the lower marginal portion 16-of said casesection is received within the recess 1 1 formed by the offset It. Screws i8 extending through the lowermost marginal portion 16 and threaded into the offset it hold the parts of the case assembled. Attached to the ends I I of case section l2 are end pieces 19 which are preferably constructed of some plastic material and which form ornaments for dressing up the case structure. These end pieces have body portions 2! which overlie the ends l l of the case and are secured thereto by means of screws 22. These end pieces furthermore have feet 23 which are disposed beneath the section It and support the entire toaster above the tableon which it rests to provide ventilation and retard "the transfer of heat to the table. The section ['5 of the case A is constructed with openings 30 which register with the bread ovens 'C and through which the bread may be inserted into said ovens and placed upon the bread racks -D.

Within the case A is located the framework B which supports the mechanism of the invention. This framework consists of a frame 24, 'of inverted U-shaped form, having an upper longitudinally extending frame member 25 and two vertically extending frame members 26 and 21 connected thereto. The frame members 26 and 2? have flanges -28 projecting outwardly therefrom and lying in a common plane. These flanges rest upon the flange 1-3 and support the frame structure through the lowercase section H1. Screws 2i) hold the framework B attached to the case A.

Within the framework ;B is providedfourheating elements 29, 3!, 32 and 33 which consists of sheets of mica 34 on which are wound suitable resistors 35. These heating elements in conjunction with the vertical frame members '26 and 21, form the two bread ovens C whichare disposed between the heating elements 29 and '3! and between the heating elements 32 and 33. The heating elements 3! and 32 are also separated from one another to forma-space 36 therebetween and in which certain of the mechanism of the invention is disposed. For supporting the heating elements 29, 31,32 and 33 two bars 3-1 are employed which extend transversely of the frame members 26 and 21 and are attached thereto by means of screws 38. The said screws are insulated from the frameby insulating washers '39. Other screws 4| extend through said bars and through angle brackets 42 secured to the various heating elements by means of rivets 4 3. The

means of a rivet 62.

heating elements 29, 3|, 32 and 33 have reinforcing strips 44 secured to the upper and lower ends of the same and which also serve for attachment of guide wires 45. These guide wires are spaced from the resistors 35 and prevent the toast from coming in direct contact therewith and burning.

For supporting the toast within the oven C the two bread racks D are employed. These bread racks consist of elongated bars E6 which extend through slots 41 in the vertical frame members 26 and 21 and are guided for vertical movement therein. One end of each of said bars has an arm 48 bent outwardly therefrom and which terminates in a lug 49. The lugs 49 straddle two levers 52 and 53 and are pivotally connected thereto by means of rivets 54.

The lever 52 is pivoted to an upright 55 by This upright is secured to the frame B in the following manner: The upper end of said upright has a finger 56 which extends over the horizontal frame member 25 and is formed with a lug 51 which projects downwardly through said frame member. The lower end of the upright 55 has a flange 58 projecting outwardly therefrom which is secured by means of a rivet 59 to the flange 28 of frame 24. Another lever 6| hereinafter referred to as a rack lever is also pivoted to the upright 55 by means of a rivet 63 and extends through slots 85 in the frame members 25 and 2'! of frame 24 and through a slot 64 in one of the ends II of the case section I0. This lever forms the operating member by means of which the bread racks D are moved into toasting position and by means of which the said bread racks may be subsequently released. The lever GI has attached to it a knob 65 by which said lever may be depressed. Extending between the lever 52 and the lever BI is a bell crank 66 which has of a screw 68. The said lever has a short arm 69 which is pivoted to the lever 52 by means of a screw II. Lever 53 is pivoted to the bell crank 66 by means of a rivet I2. The ends of both of the levers 52 and BI project outwardly beyond the vertical frame member 21. These ends of said levers have attached to them a tension coil spring 13 which has its ends I4 and i hooked into holes 16 and IT in said levers. :8 of the lever 52 projects outwardly beyond the upright 55 an appreciable amount so that considerable movement is given to the lever 52 tending to urge the said lever upwardly and to move the bread racks D into non-toasting position.

The timing mechanism E on the invention is of the type disclosed in the patent to R. Sardeson 2,365,909 issued December 26, 1944. This timing mechanism includes a strip of bi-metal 85 which is mounted for reciprocating movement in a guide 81. Guide 81 is attached to an end plate 88 forming part of the framework B. The end plate 88 has a foot 89 which rests upon and is attached to the flange 28 of frame member 25 by means of a screw 9|. The upper end of the said end plate is held in proper relation with the vertical frame members 25 by means of a spacer 92. The ends of said spacer are attached to the plate 88 and the vertical frame member 25 by riveting or otherwise.

Pivotally mounted on a shaft 94 is a gear segment 95 which is adapted to cooperate with a rack 90 formed on the strip of bi-metal 88 by means of spaced openings 96. The shaft 94 is secured to the plate 88. The gear segment The end 4 95 has attached to it a section 91 of a ratchet wheel, the teeth of which cooperate with a catch 93. Catch 93 is pivoted on a pintle 99 which is also attached to the plate 88. The said catch includes a finger I0l which rests on the bi-metal and which is adapted to be raised to disengage the catch 88 from the section 91 of the ratchet wheel and release the gear segment 95, one tooth at a time. A spring I00 secured to the catch 88 and to the plate 88 urges the finger IOI against the strip of bi-metal 86. The bi-metal is heated by means of a heater I02 disposed within the guide 87. It will readily be comprehended that the rate of heating of the bi-metal determines the length of time required for the operation of the timing mechanism E for each cooking period.

The latching device F includes a U-shaped arm I08 hereinafter referred to as a catch arm which has spaced flanges I08 and III. This arm is pivotally supported on the spacer 92 which is in the form of a rod and which extends through the two flanges I09 and III. A torsion spring H2 encircles the spacer 92 between the flanges I09 and III and is attached to flange I09 and to the plate 88 to cause said arm to swing normally upwardly as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The arm I08 has pivoted to the flange I09 thereof by means of a rivet I I8 a depending latch I I9. Latch H9 has a catch I2I at the lower end of the same which is formed with a surface I25 adapted to engage a corresponding surface I26 on a catch engaging member I22. This catch member forms part of a bar I23 which is secured to the gear segment 95 by means of rivets I24. Pivotally connected to the latch I I9 by means of a rivet H8 is a depending link I29 which forms a connector between the latch I I9 and the lever 5|. This link-is constructed with spaced fingers I3! and I32 at its lower end. These fingers straddle the lever GI and when the said lever is moved downwardly the said link imparts to the latch H9 downward movement. Below the lever 51 is another lever 19. This lever extends completely through the frame 24 and its innermost end is formed with an upstanding arm 80. This arm is pivoted by means of a rivet BI to a bracket 82 secured to the vertical frame member 25. The said lever has an oflset 83 at its opposite end and which terminates in an extension 84 projecting through the slot 64 in the end II of case A. A knob I03 is attachedto the projecting end of said lever. The levers 6i and 19 are connected together intermediate their ends by means of a link I04 which is pivoted to said levers by screws I05 and I06. The levers 52, 53, GI and 73 all operate in slots formed in the two vertical frame members 28 and 21.

The shock absorbing device G includes a gear segment I I3 which is formed on the gear segment and which is adapted to mesh with a gear pinion IM. This pinion is attached to a shaft H5 which is journaled in a bearing IIB mounted on the plate 88. A flywheel II! is also attached to the shaft H5 and the said flywheel absorbs the energy produced by the spring I03 and allows the bread racks D to move less rapidly to nor--. mal position at the end of the timing period.

For resetting the timing device E link I29 is formed with a shoulder I33. This shoulder is adapted to engage a lug I34 on the bar I23 and to rotate the gear segment 95 in a direction opposite to that resulting from the operation of the timing mechanism E, thus resetting the timing mechanism.

For energizing the heating elements 29, 3I, 32

acetate includes two fixed contacts 135 and I36 which are mounted on -a bar of insulating material 133 This bar is attached to the end plate -88 by means of screws I38. Spacers I39 encircling said screws and disposed between said bar and plate hold the bar spaced therefrom and contacts 335 and 136 free from the end plate -88. 'The'contacts I35 and -I36-are-connected in the circuit for energizing the heating elements 29 in the customary manner. Theswitch mechanism lfl further includes a switch arm I which is constructed of resilient sheet material suchas spring bronze or the like. The arm I'M has-a base portion 142 which overlies the end. plate 88' and which is secured thereto by means of screws "M3. outwardly from the base portion I42 formed anofiset I44 which spaces such portion from the end plate 88, and brings the-extreme end I45 of said 'arm outwardly of and opposite the con tacts I35 and I36. A movable contact-member I46 is attached to the end I 45 of arm III and insulated therefrom. The contact member I46 when moved into engagement with the contacts I35 and I36 closes the circuit through said contacts and heating elements 29, 3I, 32 and 33 and causes the same to become energized.

Movement of the switch arm I4I to bring the movable contact member I46 into circuit closing position is accomplished as follows: Pivoted to a pintle -49 attached to lever 6| is a roller I-I which moves with said lever in an up and down direction. Traversing the direction of movement of said roller is a cam I52 which is formed in the intermediate portion of the arm I I-I as best shown in Fig. 2. This cam traverses the direction of movement of the roller I5I and as said roller descends upon downward movement of lever 6I said roller engages said cam and forces said cam toward the right as shown in Fig. '2, bringing the contact member I 46 into contact with the fixed contacts I35 and I36.

The operation of the invention is as follows: The parts are shown innormal -positionin 1 'i'gs. 1, 2 and 4. Pressure on the knob 65 of lever 6| moves said lever downwardly and said lever engaging finger .I32 moves .link I29 downwardly and also latch II9. catch engaging member I22 and holds the bread racks D in toasting position with the parts .of

the timing device E: and associated parts .as shown in Fig. 5. At the same time roller I 5:I engages cam I52 and moves the switch contact member I46 into engagement with the fixedcontacts I35 and I36. This completes the circuit through the heating elements and energizes the same. The timing mechanism E is now energized by spring '13 and commences to function. As the bi-metal 36 is heated by the heater I02 the same arches and swings finger IDI upwardly. This disengages the catch 98 from the ratchet segment 95 releasing the ratchet segment 95 to move one tooth at a time. During such movement the gear segment I I3 drives the flywheel II 1 and the shock is absorbed by the flywheel. As the said mechanism operates, shaft 94 and gear segment 95 rotate and the angularity of the surface I26 of catch engaging member I 22 is changed till the catch I2I reaches the position shown in Fig. 6. During the final movement of the segment 95, flywheel II? is set in rotation and the momentum of the same together with the energy im parted segment 95 from spring 13 serve to procure relative movement between the latch -I 2 I and the latch engaging member I22. During such Catch I.2I then engages the ,rotatable during the 6 movement of member 1-22 *theca'tch I '2 Ilslid'es off from the same. Spring '13 then moves lever 61 upwardly. 'I his lever through finger 'I3 I moves the link 1'29- upwardly. When the shoulder I33 engages lug 1-34, the segment -"I-I3 is rotated from the position shown in Fig. 6'to thatshown in Fig.4 the spring 13 serving to =retur-n-the parts to normal position. After the catch IZI leaves the catch engaging member 1-2-2, spring 13 is no longer restrained by the timing mechanism E and tends to raise the bread racks D with considerable violence. However, the shock absorbing device G absorbs the excess energy. 'Theg'ear segment I I3 being-meshed with pinion 'IMasprevi'ously-explained accelerates rotation of flywheel I'I-I. The energy of spring I3 is thus absorbed by "theflywheel and the shock which would otherwise-occur is absorbed. In moving the parts to normal :position roller I'5I is moved out of engagement with cam I52 and the switch mechanism opened.

The advantages of-the invention are manifest. The device will operate continuously without attention. With our invention no leakage parts to get plugged are relied on. With our invention the results can be accurately duplicated without close machining. The device is simple in operation andcan be manufactured at a reasonable cost. The deviceserves a threefold purpose, namely, to absorb the shock occasioned by the timing mechanism, to assist in'releasing the carriage-and to absorb the shock produced by the release of the bread racks.

Changes in the specific form of ourinven'tion, as herein described, may be made within the scope-of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a bread toaster, guide means, a bread rack guided thereby and movable toward and from toasting'positionspring means connected to said bread rack and adapted to, be energized upon movement of the bread rack into 'toastingposition and 'urging movement of thebread rack from toasting position, latchingmeans engageable with a partmovable with said bread rack for *holding said bread'rack in toasting position in opposition to said spring means, a timing device operating said latching means including a pivoted part timing period and operating said latching means to release said bread rack at the end of a timing period, said ivotedpart being driven by said spring means and moving during the timing period, a flywheel, rotary transmission means between said pivoted part andsaid flywheel and imparting rotary movement .to said flywheel during the timing period, the momentum of said flywheel at the moment of release of said bread rack assisting said spring means in driving said pivoted part to efiect positive release of said bread rack.

2. In a bread toaster, guide means, a bread rack guided thereby and movable toward and. from toasting position, spring means connected to said bread rack and adapted to be energized upon movement of the bread rack into toasting position and urging movement of the bread rack from toasting position, latching means engageable with a part movable with said bread rack for holding said bread rack in toasting position in opposition to said spring means, a timing device operating said latching means including a pivoted part constantly urged to rotate by said spring means in a direction to give to said part a step'by step movement to'effect the timing period, and a flywheel connected to said part and driven thereby, said flywheel during the timing period absorbing the energy produced in 'said part upon initiation of the movement of said part at each step of the movement thereof, at the moment of release assisting said spring means in releasing the bread rack and upon release absorbing the excess energy imparted to the bread rack.

3. In a bread toaster a support, guide means carried thereby, a bread rack supported and guided for movement by said guide means and movable toward and from toasting position, spring means connected to said break rack and serving to move said bread rack toward nontoasting position, manual control means connected to said bread rack and moving the same and being adapted to energize said spring means upon movement of the bread rack into toasting position, a timing device including a rotatable member, a catch engaging member carried thereby and serving when moved in one direction to actuate said timing device, a movable catch carried by said support and movable into a position to engage said catch engaging member, said catch being connected to said spring means and being moved thereby to operate said timing device and when reaching a position where the spring means is partially deenergized releasing said bread rack, a flywheel rotatably carried by said support and driven by said rotatable member at a greater rate of speed than said rotatable member, said flywheel absorbing energy during actuation of said timing device and releasing said energy to assist said partially deenergized spring means to release said catch, and further absorbing the shock occasioned by movement of the bread rack away from toasting position.

4. In a bread toaster a support, guide means carried thereby, a bread rack supported and guided for movement by said guide means and movable toward and from toasting position, spring means connected to said bread rack and serving to move said bread rack toward non-toasting position, manual control means connected to said bread rack and moving the same and being adapted to energize said spring means upon movement of thebread rack into toasting position, a timing device including a rotatable member, said spring means being also connected to and operating said timing mechanism, catch means connected to and holding said bread rack in toasting position, said timing mechanism being connected to and operating said catch means to release the same and free said bread rackrat the end of a toasting period, said spring means first opcrating said timing mechanism and subsequently and upon release of said catch means moving the bread rack into non-toasting position, a flywheel rotatably carried by said support and driven by said rotatable member, said flywheel having greater momentum than said rotatable member and absorbing energy during actuation of said timing device and releasing said energy to assist said partially deenergized spring means to release said catch means, and further absorbing the shock occasioned by movement of the bread rack away from toasting position upon release of said catch means.

5. In a bread toaster a support, guide means carried thereby, a bread rack supported and guided for movement by said guide means and movable toward and from toasting position, spring means connected to said bread rack and serving to move said bread rack toward non-toasting position, manual control means connected to said bread rack and moving the same and being adapted to energize said spring means upon movement of the bread rack into toasting position, a timing device including a rotatable member, said spring means being also connected to and operating said timing mechanism, catch means connected to and holding said bread rack in toasting position, said timing mechanism being connected to and operating said catch means torelease the same and free said bread rack at the end of a toasting period, said spring means first operating said timing mechanism and subsequently and upon release of said catch means moving the bread rack into non-toasting position, a flywheel rotatably carried by said support and driven by said rotatable member, said flywheel being driven at a greater rate of speed than said rotatable member and absorbing energy during actuation of said timing device and releasing said energy to assist said partially deenergized spring means to release said catch, and further absorbing the shock occasioned by movement of the bread rack away from toasting position upon release of said catch means. 

